Pricing Ideas and Tactics for house sale

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merc180k

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Evening all,

Looking for some help and ideas for pricing my house to sell as quickly as it possibly can given the current market.

I have asked the estate agent to come up with some thoughts and ideas but pondering things myself tonight and thinking that an "off the wall" strategy might do the job.

i.e. "Buy for £xxx and stamp paid for you" or "£500 cash back on completion", or "Black C180k thrown in with the sale....!" (ok maybe not that one)

You get the idea. Has anyone used any other tactics to get their house sold or have you bought with any whacky incentives that made the house stand out from the crowd???

Ideas welcome, (and thanks).

Simon
 
Sadly from your point of view, the only surefire way to sell it quickly is to price it accordingly.

If it were priced at £1 it would sell tonight. If it were priced at what you want to get for it, it could take months to sell. Somewhere between £1 and your ideal price is one which will generate interest, but you may not like it.
 
Stratman has it right.

Marketiing gizmo's maybe work with other sales, where buyers can commit immediately. House sales, people have weeks to work out that the hype might be followed by regret...
 
I noticed that once I had bought a second house the mortgage payments were utterly wasted on the first. Although it is tempting to go for as much as possible going for quick is my preferred method.

But now is too early in the year, I think you need to have some of the flowers in the garden in bloom to make it attractive, so start high and plan to drop the price in march maybe?

A fair price is what it will sell for whatever you think it ought to be. There are no special offers that would sway my final choice, but perhaps an offer to cover the mortgage arrangement fee if the sale is completed by the first of June would cause me to push my solicitor?
 
I noticed that once I had bought a second house the mortgage payments were utterly wasted on the first. Although it is tempting to go for as much as possible going for quick is my preferred method.

But now is too early in the year, I think you need to have some of the flowers in the garden in bloom to make it attractive, so start high and plan to drop the price in march maybe?

A fair price is what it will sell for whatever you think it ought to be. There are no special offers that would sway my final choice, but perhaps an offer to cover the mortgage arrangement fee if the sale is completed by the first of June would cause me to push my solicitor?
This is the kind of thing I'm thinking. Obviously price has to be right, but if you are looking at 2 or 3 houses very similar and all at around the same price, the one with a nice offer of "that liitle bit extra back" might sway the overall choice in our favour.

Keep them coming - all ideas welcome.

Simon
 
Thinking on.

The arrangement fee might be quite a tempter.

But you might get nobbled for it even if the sale is delayed, the vendee (why is it not a word?) could drop the offer last minute because they will think you can afford the loss.

People are having to come up with quite big deposits at the moment so I suppose anything that helps cut the cash up front costs would be helpful even if you are asking a slightly higher bottom line price.
 
We've always found it's a good closer to make offers/acceptances conditional ie "we are prepared to offer £*** but only if all marketing ceases today, and contracts are exchanged in 2 wks, completion in 4" or the likes.
When selling we have normally priced accordingly, then when an offer comes in responfd with "we won't accept your offer but what we will do is accept £**** and will cease marketing the property as long as you have a mortgage offer, exchange in a week, complete in 4" or the likes.
Probably not particulary achievable, but it has weeded out the chaff and shows we are serious. IT does seem to galvanose the other party/their agents/solicitors etc.
 
Make sure the estate agent uses Rightmove or Prime Location when marketing the property. Priceless!

The house could be free of charge, but if there is no audience there is a greatly reduced chance of finding a buyer.
 
I Agree there is no real incentive apart from price which will determin if your house sells quickly or not.

Gimicks wouldn't interest me, Money off would as I like most buyers probably would want to spend money on the house making it there own (new bathroom, kitchen etc)

Make it as appealing as possible, de clutter, hanging baskets up, coffee machine on, Sweep the drive, tidy the garden, You have to make your house stand out from the others the people viewing are looking at.


Sadly the bottom line will sway to this being price.
 
Are there any SIMILAR homes near you for sale?
If so, take a close look at them.
Very few homes, unless only a few years old are as similar as first appearances intimate.
Many differ by extensions, conservatorys, kitchen and bathroom refits etc...etc....
How long have those 'similar' homes been on the market?
That will hopefully give you a good pointer towards what you should be thinking.
BUT.....
Every home is individual and needs to priced accordingly.
Also, it depends at which point in the marketplace your home sits.
It also depends whether you GENUINELY want a quick sale or are just giving lip service.
And one last point.
You can always reduce the price if necessary.
Which is a good ploy.
Put it on the market for more than you should realistically be asking.
If it sells - great!
If not, then after a week or so give it a HUGE reduction.
This usually has the desired effect.
All the above is pretty obvious.
However, all it really need is just ONE potential buyer to click with your home and bobs your auntie.
 
We needed to sell a house quickly about 5 years ago.
Looked at other similar houses nearby to determine ours was worth £155k
Put it up for sale at £150k and it sold within 2 weeks for full asking price. Those at £155k hung around for several months after ours had gone.

Presentation is everything - take a good look at the "kerb appeal". Get people through the door & you then need a tidy/presentable interior.

If the price is right for the property, it will sell.

Don't be tempted to over price, you will wait months, gradually dropping the price until you end up at the "right" price, which is where you should have started!
 
There are properties going to auction in the current slow market that wouldn't normally end up there.

You could speak to an auction house (completely free) to see what they say before discounting the idea. If the reserve was acceptable then you have a deal.

The benefits (assuming you get a bidder) are quick turnaround (with 10% being paid on the day of the auction and the balance within 28 days), no timewasters, no being taken to the point of exchange before the buyer gazunders or pulls out, no chain etc etc.

It also puts you in a favourable position as a buyer because you're ready to go within a month of the auction.

It might not end up as a solution, but it's worth a phone call to the auctioneer.
 
Special offers etc smack of desperation. Price it right and fair. Be realistic. Any special offers with invite silly offers.
I have bought houses where I discovered the sellers were getting divorced. Both times I assumed they were desperate for a quick sale and made low offers. Both were accepted so maybe they weren't low enough.

Good luck.
 
I should add that Rightmove will show you sold prices in your road/area on their website, from recent (relevant) to about 5 years ago (irrelevant)

These are Land Registry recorded actual sale prices, not the "for sale" prices of the estate agents.

This may help you price more accurately (though there will be variables for condition/circumstance).
 
A Suggestion --------> Raffle your house away

you could always raffle your house, I have heard people do this and they get what they want and the new owners get it for few £££'s on a raffle ticket

Say you sell raffle tickets for £50 x 7500 (required limit) = £375,000

or whatever you want, but you can also put on the raffle this sale will only take place once the required limit has been reached

i'd buy a ticket for £50
 
A Suggestion --------> Raffle your house away

you could always raffle your house, I have heard people do this and they get what they want and the new owners get it for few £££'s on a raffle ticket

Say you sell raffle tickets for £50 x 7500 (required limit) = £375,000

or whatever you want, but you can also put on the raffle this sale will only take place once the required limit has been reached

i'd buy a ticket for £50

I've heard of this - does anybody know of anywhere it has worked or they all urban myths?
 
I've heard of this - does anybody know of anywhere it has worked or they all urban myths?

Bad idea. Legal minefield, especially if mortgaged

Raffling your home illegal, legal expert warns | Europe | News

If it sticks, there are reasons so do not blind yourself to them. Clean the place up, get rid of junk, put right any minor faults and take a realistic price for quick sale.

Gimmicks and non standard terms just put people off.
 
if you haven't already, perhaps have a read of some of the sellers threads over on MSE house buying & selling section, i think the general opinion is just price it realistically, special offers can actually put some people off.

land registry selling prices info, 3 months in arrears unfortunately, but your EA will be able to give you more recent prices that have actually exchanged/completed on, these sites are useful -
Free UK Sold House Prices - Nethouseprices.com
House Prices
Land Registry : House prices

be wary of anything on zoopla, the values can fluctuate wildly. install property bee to be used with rightmove, shows how long on market & changes in price.

good luck! :)
 

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